Episode 736 - Pausing to Build Power

When life piles on from every direction, the urge is to act fast just to feel in control. But sometimes the strongest move is to pause.

In Episode 736 of Monday Morning Mojo, Phil shares a conversation with a friend facing multiple personal and professional pressures at once. What seemed like a simple business issue turned out to be something bigger, a need for clarity, control, and perspective. Phil’s advice: slow down, breathe, and prioritize.

Drawing on wisdom from Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Charles Swindoll, and Amelia Earhart, this episode explores what real resilience looks like. It’s not about avoiding adversity, but mastering your response, focusing on what you can control, and taking the next small step forward. Resilience isn’t a trait, it’s a daily practice built through mindset, priorities, and steady action.

Resources:

Please send Comments, Questions, and Feedback to: mojo@cannonfinancial.com

Please send First Friday Feedback Submissions to: mojo@cannonfinancial.com

Transcript

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I'm Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Cannon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life. Thanks for joining. 

Good Monday morning. It is Phil here with episode 736 of Monday Morning Mojo. A couple of weeks ago I received a voicemail message from a longtime friend asking me to call what I had expected to be. A quick chat actually lasted for more than an hour. The call began with a business situation, but I could tell from the tone and tenor of the conversation that something else was going on.

Now, me being me, I was pretty direct and I said, stop a second. What's, what's really happening? What, what's up for the next 20 minutes? I got the full story. The details themselves aren't important. Big picture, my friend was facing issues on multiple fronts personally and professionally. And while none of the issues were unique per se, they were all raining down on my PAL at one time.

It's in moments like these that most of us would be just like my friend, a bit scattered and in search of some small way to get a feeling of control to, to find a win. It was the business issue that prompted the call that my friend felt they could do something, they could tackle it and, and move forward.

In fact, there was such a sense of urgency on their part to do something about the issue that actually motivated me to get to that larger story. Only after unpacking the rest of the story that. I finally came to understand the total predicament, making a decision. Any decision on the business issue immediately might have given my friend a momentary emotional lift, but making a quick decision on that specific issue might just have brought on more headaches down the road.

So my advice was simple. Slow your role and prioritize. The next words out of my friend's mouth were, I've just exhaled. Thank you. We chatted for a while longer and my pal began to articulate how they were going to actually prioritize and tackle the various issues at hand. And some of them we agreed we're gonna take a while, but that's life.

Sometimes there are no quick fixes. Later that day, I sent my buddy a favorite quote that is attributed to Marcus Aurelius. It goes, quote, you have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength unquote. Now Aurelius was an early stoic. He didn't have a hardened heart as some claim.

Rather, he is said to have been measured in his reactions and one who took belong view. Let's take a quick dive into what it means to be truly resilient in the face of life's challenges. We'll examine how maybe ancient philosophy combined with modern wisdom can guide us through difficult times, helping us to not only survive, but to thrive.

Let's begin with a very simple truth. Adversity is inevitable. We all experience setbacks, disappointments, and moments that lack clarity and bring nothing but a feeling of uncertainty. What sets resilient people apart is not the absence of struggle, but how they respond to it. The Reverend Charles Swindle famously said, life is 10%.

What happens to you and 90% how you react. This perspective is a cornerstone of resilience. It's not about controlling every event or outcome, but about mastering our reactions and ProAct actions. Our mindset, our attitude, and our choices shape far more than circumstances alone. Resiliency isn't just a modern buzzword, it's an idea deeply rooted in ancient philosophy.

Especially stoicism, stoics believe that while we cannot always control external events, we can choose our responses. Seneca, one of the great stoic philosophers captured this beautifully when he wrote, we are often more frightened than hurt, and we suffer more from imagination than reality. Now, think about that for a moment.

How many times have we felt overwhelmed by anticipated problems that never actually materialized? How often do we let our fears more vivid in our mind and in our imagination than in reality, shape our actions and emotions? Stoicism teaches us to distinguish between what's within our control and what is not.

This has the act of freeing us to focus our energy wisely. Of course, resiliency isn't just about enduring hardship, it's also about moving forward even when the path isn't clear. Amelia Earhart, the great pioneering aviator, once said quote, the most difficult thing is the decision to act the rest. Merely tenacity.

These words remind us that taking the first step is often the hardest part. Fear and uncertainty can certainly paralyze us, but once we commit to action, we tap into reserves of perseverance and determination. Many times at levels we might not even understand we possess. So when faced with a challenge, ask yourself.

What is the right first small step I can take? Once you make that decision, keep going. Tenacity, sticking with it, even when things get tough, is the engine of resiliency. Now, let's put all this together. When adversity strikes, pause, reflect, and prioritize. Is your reaction being shaped by fear or imagination rather than reality?

Can you shift your perspective, focusing on what you can control in the right order? And crucially, can you make the decision to act however small that action may be? Remember, resiliency doesn't mean never feeling fear or doubt. It means moving forward in spite of the fear and the doubt. It means seeing setbacks as opportunities to learn to grow, to become even stronger.

As we wrap up, let's revisit the wisdom that guides us swindle. Reminder about the power of reaction, Seneca's insight into the nature of our suffering and erhard's call to action. Resiliency isn't a magical trait reserved for a lucky few. It's a skill, it's a mindset, and should be a daily practice that each of us work to cultivate.

So take a deep breath. Remember what's in your control, prioritize, decide to act and let tenacity carry you the rest of the way. This is the true heart of resiliency. Monday Morning Mojo is production of Cannon Financial Institute, executive producer of Monday Morning. Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Bruder.

Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.